Auburn's board of trustees just finished an afternoon groundbreaking of the new airport terminal. I decided to skip the ceremony, given the 95-degree heat. But here's a quick run-down of this morning's committee action. Bear in mind, 1) this has nothing to do with athletics, and 2) nothing is 100 percent official until approved by the full board tomorrow.

Read on for more...

Auburn chief financial officer Don Large provided an outline of the budget process for the 2010 fiscal year. The detailed budget will be approved in the board's September meeting and go into effect on Oct. 1. The outlook was fairly bleak.

State appropriations sunk dramatically beginning with the 2009 fiscal year, and that trend shows no signs of ending. "In its simplest form, we're operating in an environment in which our continuing expenses are higher than our continuing revenues. So we do have some challenges," Large said.

What does that mean? For Auburn students, it means a tuition hike of about 6 percent. For employees, it means a second consecutive year without raises.

Auburn's main campus is $23 million in the hole coming into this year. Tack on another $5.8 million cut in state appropriations. Factor in $10.3 million in "mandatory and essential costs" that the university has no choice but to fund.

That left Large and the board about $39 million to figure out. To make up that difference alone, Large said, would take a clearly unpalatable 26-percent tuition hike. Instead, the university opted for a 6-percent increase, $15.1 million in permanent cuts and $15.1 million in one-time give-backs.

Auburn's student government president Jacob Watkins was on hand and gave his blessing to the tuition increase. Even the normally populist trustee Jimmy Rane said he supported the measure "in light of the historic recession we're in."

A fellow trustee joked, "Somebody take a picture." Another chimed in, "Put it on a billboard."

The board's faculty rep noted that Auburn's tuition remains a relative bargain compared to similar schools.

"We're in uncharted waters," said president pro-tem Paul Spina, "but every other state is uncharted waters."

MORE MORNING TIDBITS...

* The committee gave the go-ahead for a schematic design for the Poultry and Animal Nutrition Center (Krebs), AUM Wellness Center (Infinity Architecture, 360 Architecture and BL Harbert), MRI research center (Perkins and Will, Brasfield and Gorrie) and Small Animal Teaching Hospital (Brasfield and Gorrie).

(Auburn trustee Raymond J. Harbert noted that he has no connection to the company and that is run by his cousin).

* The committee approved the budget and site for the South Quad Multimodal Transportation Facility. (A cynic would note this is a very fancy name for a parking garage). The building will house 400-450 parking spaces but also serve as a "transportation hub" for buses, bikes, scooters, etc. The facility will be funded by federal dollars, state bonds and matching funds from Auburn. The site is at the corner of Lem Morrison and Duncan Drive, adjacent to the new IT building and across the street from the medical clinic. The garage will be in the same style as the new one near Jordan-Hare Stadium. Robins and Morton are construction manager.

* The garage project prompted a long discussion about biking on campus and what the university can do to encourage students and employees/faculty to bike rather than drive. This prompted a bit of subtle eye-rolling from the peanut gallery, as many university employees were dressed professionally in suits and ties and dresses and such and the idea of biking around campus in 100-degree heat was a bit impractical. But it was pointed out that the university has made strides in bike lanes. More discussion was promised in the future.

* Finally, the committee approved the budget for a new air transportation hangar. The site will be located adjacent to the new terminal building. The existing hangars do not meet FAA criteria. The budget is $1.639 million and the cities of Auburn and Opelika are also chipping in on the project.